Posted: Monday, August 20, 2018

Maggie Stevenson, University of Evansville associate professor of psychology, and Cynthia Najdowski, assistant professor at the University at Albany, have co-edited and published a book titled Criminal Juries in the 21st Century: Psychological Science and the Law. The book is part of the American Psychology-Law Society Series and was published by Oxford University Press. 

This book explores the increasingly wide gulf between criminal trial law, procedures, and policy, and what scientific findings have revealed about the human experience of serving as a juror. It provides a unique view of criminal juries with the goal of increasing awareness of a broad range of current issues in great need of theoretical, empirical, and legal attention. It also identifies how social science research can inform law and policy relevant to improving justice within the jury system.

Stevenson has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters related to factors that shape juror decision making and the nature of jury deliberations. She also explores perceptions of marginalized individuals, including children and minorities, who enter the legal system, either as victims or as perpetrators of crime. Her research has received grants and awards from divisions of the American Psychological Association.

Najdowski’s research explores how social psychological phenomena shape criminal justice interactions in ways that produce miscarriages of justice for minorities, women, and children. Her work has been recognized with several national grants and awards and published in the top-ranked journals in the field of psychology and law.

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